Emergency workers find man dead after being swept into sewer pipe in Lawrence

LAWRENCE — A man who was sucked into a sewer pipe Tuesday after he lifted a manhole cover to clear standing water on his property was found dead last night after emergency workers from multiple towns had searched for him for hours.

“He was found during a search of the collection area at the Ewing Lawrence Sewerage Authority and we are still trying to recover the body,” Lawrence Police Chief Dan Posluszny said.

Water from the Delaware & Raritan Canal flooded part of Shemin Nurseries, a landscaping and nursery company, after Hurricane Irene swept through the area.

Police said the man, along with other workers, tried to clear the water by opening the manhole cover, and he was sucked in. The incident was reported at 2:15 p.m.

“With the current, the pressure, millions of gallons of water sucking through the line, it just pulled him down,” Posluszny said.

Police said the man was the owner of the property. Another worker was also nearly sucked in but a group of employees of the nursery were able to pull the worker to safety, police said.

“The pipeline runs parallel to the Delaware & Raritan Canal, and down to the Ewing Lawrence Sewerage Authority,” Posluszny said, noting that the distance from the manhole to the treatment plant was roughly two miles.

The swiftly moving water and debris flowing in the pipe slowed after authorities were able to shut down the pumping station connected to the pipeline, he said.

“All told there were about 150 rescuers: firemen throughout the county, EMS, public works personnel and people from the water works,” Posluszny said.